Traditional Diaconal ordination at the Lateran

The Basilica of the Most Holy Savior in Rome (Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the Lateran), Mother and head of all the Churches in the City and in the World, will host a Traditional ceremony of Holy Orders (Diaconal Ordination) on February 23. Four seminarians of the Institute of the Good Shepherd (IBP) will be ordained to the Diaconate by Archbishop Luigi de Magistris during the ceremony, authorized by the Archpriest of the Basilica, Cardinal Ruini, Cardinal Vicar of Rome.

It is true that I do not take enough time to relate all of the news about our young institute and since you have reminded me so aptly and kindly, I beg your pardon and I thank you….It isn’t that nothing, or at least not enough, ever happens that makes us shy about giving a report, but rather that so many things happen that we simply don’t have enough time. So, where to begin?

First of all, I invite you to the ordinations on Saturday, February 16 in the parish church of Courtalain (9:30am) which his Excellency, Mgr. Pansard has so kindly put at our disposal for the occasion. Already this valiant Bishop (of Chartres) lends us the church every Sunday and Holy Day by an agreement signed between him and the director of the seminary, our renowned Fr. Christophe Héry. Many thanks to the bishop of Chartres for his understanding and kindness.

On that day, it will be his Excellency, Mgr. Madec, Archbishop Emeritus of Toulon, who will confer the tonsure, the minor orders and 6 sub-diaconates to 23 of our seminarians. What a joy in perspective. Congratulations to all of my colleagues in the seminary who carry out this enormous work and demonstrate the grace that God has bestowed upon our Institute which, I should remind you, is only a year and a half old! Thanks to Frs. Héry, Forestier, Krolikowsky, and Vella. Thanks to all the teachers who work tirelessly, first and foremost our brilliant young doctor of Sorbonne, the abbot of Tanoüarn, in charge of theologians.

But that is not all, dear madam. Eight days later, on February 23, 4 of our seminarians will receive the diaconate at the hands of his Excellency, Mgr. de Magistris, and will in turn be incardinated in the Good Shepherd Institute. Where will this take place? In Rome thank you. Which church? Would you believe it? In the Cathedral of the Pope, Mother and Mistress of all churches, the first and most venerable of all Christendom: St. John Lateran! Thanks to our brave Fr. Fournié, our representative in the Eternal City; thanks to Cardinal Ruini, the Pope's vicar, for granting the permission. Thanks to all those involved in this highly symbolic gesture and the height of benevolence of the Roman Pontiff for our modest Institute…

In France, things are progressing regardless of what people say. We’ve been granted two churches by their respective ordinaries: Courtalain church in the diocese of Chartres and Rolleboise church in that of Versailles. Thanks again to the two bishops who have given us their confidence: Mgr. Pansard, bishop of Chartres and Mgr. Aûmonier, bishop of Versailles. It is our priests of the seminary who serve Courtalain and Fr. Aulagnier who takes care of Rolleboise. These two achievements greatly demonstrate, after the success of Saint Eloi, that cooperation is possible, desirable and fruitful. What a decisive pledge for the peace of the Church in France!

Fr. Roch Perrel is on the verge of embarking for Sao Paulo, Brazil, where he will assume the direction of our seminary in South America. It is easy to understand that our dear Fr. Navas, superior of the district of South America can no longer manage our four houses there while providing long distance direction of this promising seminary.

We need new sources of energy and residents. And what better energy than that of Fr. Roch Perrel, whose laugh alone suffices to show the apostolic zeal that he is likely to deploy. A mixture of prudence, fairness and seriousness, joy and continuous communication: it is not lightheartedness that we see from a distance. But the stakes are also considerable: tens if not hundreds of vocations are there which, lacking Tradition and its doctrinal and liturgical treasures, are often given over to ever-tenacious ideological whims. It is up to the Good Shepherd Institute to gather these scattered sheep and never has a priest worn the colors of the institute so well as this outstanding colleague…… A gift will is being prepared for him and you are invited to send your donations to Mr. Father Julien. (1 rue Saint Eloi, 33000 Bordeaux).

The aforementioned Fr. Julien has been appointed, on my presentation, as official vicar of St Eloi by his Eminence Cardinal Ricard replacing the abbot Héry. Our thanks to the Cardinal, who also gives faculties to confess to 5 priests ordained in Bordeaux this past September 22 and who retains our prestigious Fr. Héry at the helm of our seminary.

We still have other very positive contacts with some Bishops of France, with an occasional act of goodwill. But you can understand, dear madam, that it would be very unpleasant to those prelates (with whom I can sympathize) to find here the public display of private negotiations… This will be for another day.

Be aware, however, that the Good Shepherd has 19 incardinated priests, another dozen associate priests, 35 seminarians (they arrive every week, especially at this time) of which, if it pleases God, at least 4 will become priests this year.

12 comments:

First of all, Deo gratias! Second, thank you so much for recalling that the Lateran Basilica is "omnium Ecclesiarum Urbis et orbis mater et caput" (mother and head of all the churches in the City and in the world). So many Catholics mistakenly attribute this title to St.-Peter's! Of course, this is because the Pope resides in the Vatican, because the Vatican City is the State of the Pope, because St.-Peter's is more impressive etc. but it is a shame to see a large majority of Catholics that ignore the Lateran. Some even don't bother to visit it all when in Rome, some (like the FSSPX during its 2000 international pilgrimage) first go to St.-Peter's. Please, first things first!Thank you for this most welcome reminder.

It would be great that some international supporters of bishop Rifan knowed that he and some neoconservatives are persecuting the brazilian house of GSI and that's why fr. Laguerie had to send a very reliable priest to Brazil. To defend the house from this 'catholics'.

What is unique about the IBP among all traditional priestly societies, fraternities, et al, is that they alone have been given the ‘extraordinary form’ of the rite as their own, proper rite ("vraiment comme leur rite proper"). Hence, unlike other sacerdotal associations, they use this rite (or form of the rite) to the exclusion of all others. If the archbishop of Bordeaux himself lie dying and the only available priest was a member of the IPB, his eminence would have to accept to have Extreme Unction conferred in the traditional rite or not have it at all.

All this fantastic growth of an Institute after only 1 year is remarkable!!! A true blessing from God. And the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.It reminds me of the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Holy Eucharist who began 11 years ago with 4 members, and now have nearly 100 !! They are a new teaching Order with loyalty to Catholic tradition and a clear apostolate.Other such communities are the FSSP, the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, the Adoratrices of Christ the King (nuns attached to the ICRSP), and afew others.Traditional/traditionalist communities which have solid apostolates and traditional life and the TLM are growing quickly.Unfortunatly, there are a handful of new Orders which profess to be traditionalist/traditional but hahve only managed to gather a handful of members (even after years), and have a rather nebulous or off-mainstream apostolate as to never bring in many vocations. Some communities have only had 3-4 members for 20 years or so!I am certain that most traditionalist Orders will grow, whereas the liberal Vatican II communities will rapidly die off.Hopefully many more traditionalist Orders of monks, friars, nuns, sisters, and active priests and brothers will be founded...all using the Tridentine Latin Mass.

***I would not be surprised if in a few months, the Institute of the Good Shepherd is given a major Church in Rome to staff.

(Forgive my being so obtuse but I can't figure out how else to send an email to the blog-master, with this request that you might publicize this video. Very many thanks.)

Many people have been impressed by the five minute video about St Gregory's Academy circulated in recent weeks.

A longer, 24-minute version is now posted on the Academy website:

http://www.stgregorysacademy.org/

I encourage everyone to take a look. And if you have sons, to think seriously about taking them to visit. A friend from the West took one of his boys there to look the school over. They met the students and teachers and dorm fathers and clergy, went to Mass and dinner and class and a rugby game, joined in the singing (maybe the most important thing about theschool), spent a couple of days getting a feel for the place. At the end of the visit, the dad asked his son what he thought. The lad said, "I knew five minutes after we got here that I wanted to come to school here." He and his brother are now in their second year as students at the academy.

Along with Clear Creek Monastery, St Gregory's Academy is among the choicest fruits of the great work of John Senior, Dennis Quinn and Frank Nelick.